Loss of membrane integrity drives myofiber death in lipin1-deficient skeletal muscle
PHYSIOLOGICAL REPORTS
Authors: Ramani Sattiraju, Sandhya; Jama, Abdulrahman; Alshudukhi, Abdullah A.; Edward Townsend, Nicholas; Reynold Miranda, Daniel; Reese, Rebecca R.; Voss, Andrew A.; Ren, Hongmei
Abstract
Mutations in lipin1 are suggested to be a common cause of massive rhabdomyolysis episodes in children; however, the molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of myofiber death caused by the absence of lipin1 are not fully understood. Loss of membrane integrity is considered as an effective inducer of cell death in muscular dystrophy. In this study, we utilized a mouse line with selective homozygous lipin1 deficiency in the skeletal muscle (Lipin1(Myf5cKO)) to determine the role of compromised membrane integrity in the myofiber death in lipin1-deficient muscles. We found that Lipin1(Myf5cKO) muscles had significantly elevated proapoptotic factors (Bax, Bak, and cleaved caspase-9) and necroptotic proteins such as RIPK1, RIPK3, and MLKL compared with WT mice. Moreover, Lipin1(Myf5cKO) muscle had significantly higher membrane disruptions, as evidenced by increased IgG staining and elevated uptake of Evans Blue Dye (EBD) and increased serum creatine kinase activity in Lipin1(Myf5cKO) muscle fibers. EBD-positive fibers were strongly colocalized with apoptotic or necroptotic myofibers, suggesting an association between compromised plasma membrane integrity and cell death pathways. We further show that the absence of lipin1 leads to a significant decrease in the absolute and specific muscle force (normalized to muscle mass). Our work indicates that apoptosis and necroptosis are associated with a loss of membrane integrity in Lipin1(Myf5cKO) muscle and that myofiber death and dysfunction may cause a decrease in contractile force.
The pathological features of regulated necrosis
JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY
Authors: Tonnus, Wulf; Meyer, Claudia; Paliege, Alexander; Belavgeni, Alexia; von Maessenhausen, Anne; Bornstein, Stefan R.; Hugo, Christian; Becker, Jan Ulrich; Linkermann, Andreas
Abstract
Necrosis of a cell is defined by the loss of its plasma membrane integrity. Morphologically, necrosis occurs in several forms such as coagulative necrosis, colliquative necrosis, caseating necrosis, fibrinoid necrosis, and others. Biochemically, necrosis was demonstrated to represent a number of genetically determined signalling pathways. These include (i) kinase-mediated necroptosis, which depends on receptor interacting protein kinase 3 (RIPK3)-mediated phosphorylation of the pseudokinase mixed lineage kinase domain like (MLKL); (ii) gasdermin-mediated necrosis downstream of inflammasomes, also referred to as pyroptosis; and (iii) an iron-catalysed mechanism of highly specific lipid peroxidation named ferroptosis. Given the molecular understanding of the nature of these pathways, specific antibodies may allow direct detection of regulated necrosis and correlation with morphological features. Necroptosis can be specifically detected by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence employing antibodies to phosphorylated MLKL. Likewise, it is possible to generate cleavage-specific antibodies against epitopes in gasdermin protein family members. In ferroptosis, however, specific detection requires quantification of oxidative lipids by mass spectrometry (oxylipidomics). Together with classical cell death markers, such as TUNEL staining and detection of cleaved caspase-3 in apoptotic cells, the extension of the arsenal of necrosis markers will allow pathological detection of specific molecular pathways rather than isolated morphological descriptions. These novel pieces of information will be extraordinarily helpful for clinicians as inhibitors of necroptosis (necrostatins), ferroptosis (ferrostatins), and inflammasomes have emerged in clinical trials. Anatomical pathologists should embrace these novel ancillary tests and the concepts behind them and test their impact on diagnostic precision, prognostication, and the prediction of response to the upcoming anti-necrotic therapies. Copyright (c) 2019 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.